Biographies from Historical and Biographical Annals by Morton Montgomery

KEIM, GEORGE DE
BENNEVILLE

p. 496

Surnames: KEIM, WETHERILL, DAVIS, SEITZINGER, MAYER, GOWAN,
TREZEVANT, CRUGER, BARRON, NETHERCLIFFE, SAVAGE, CHAUNCEY,
ROBINSON, COCKE

George de Benneville Keim, one of the distinguished sons of Berks
county, for many years a resident of Philadelphia on account of his
prominent connection with the Philadelphia & Reading railroad,
was born in Reading Dec. 10, 1831. His father was Hon. George May
Keim, who for thirty years was prominent in the financial,
industrial, military and political life of Reading, in which city
his lineal antecedents had been prominent since 1755.

George de B. Keim received his preliminary
education in the local schools and at Georgetown College, District
of Columbia, and at the age of fifteen years entered the sophomore
class in Dickinson College, where he was graduated in 1849. Having
become much interested in the subject of chemistry, he took a
practical course in the laboratory of his first cousin, Dr. Charles
M. Wetherill, of Philadelphia, with special reference to the
analysis of minerals; but after a year’s study in the laboratory he
decided to turn his attention to the study of law. He entered the
office of Charles Davis, Esq., a successful attorney at Reading,
with whom he remained two years, and on April 8, 1852, he was
admitted to practice before the several courts of Berks county.

Mr. Keim found his ability recognized and almost
immediately entered upon busy practice at Reading, which continued
for three years, when his father induced him to remove to
Pottsville, in order to look after large interests in coal lands in
Schuylkill county, which were owned by his father together with Dr.
William Wetherill, Jacob W. Seitzinger and others. Upon removing to
that place he was admitted to practice before the courts there and
he made a special study of coal land titles, and naturally many
prominent coal land owners became his clients, bringing him both
reputation and increased emolument. Some years later when the
Philadelphia & Reading Company decided to control the coal
trade by securing important tracts of land and organizing a coal
and iron company, Mr. Keim’s comprehensive knowledge of the
situation and recognized ability were so highly appreciated that he
was selected to be the company’s solicitor for that section of
territory: and his identification with the company’s affairs
continued from that time, with increasing prominence, for
twenty-five years.

In 1875 he was appointed general solicitor of
the company, and as the offices were located in Philadelphia he
removed there with his family. His professional services in the
management of the law department were of the highest order, and the
company retained him in this important position for eight years,
until 1883, when he was elevated to the office of vice-president.
Before and about this time the company was involved in so many
financial difficulties and embarrassments, that it was forced into
the hands of receivers. Mr. Keim was appointed one of the three
receivers, and he filled the important position with great credit
for four years, when the receivership was terminated. He and his
associates were highly complimented for their skill, energy and
devotion in restoring the solvency of the company. In a
re-organization of the inter-related affairs of the railway and
coal and iron company, he became the president at different times,
especially from 1884 to 1886, and 1888 to 1891, being obliged to
retire from the active management of the complicated affairs of
these two gigantic corporations on account of ill health. In 1888
he was also chosen one of the directors of the Baltimore & Ohio
railroad, continuing to serve on the board until his decease in
1893. His brother-in-law, Charles F. Mayer, was then and had been
for some years president of that company. Mr. Keim’s grandfather,
George de B. Keim, who for many years was a prominent hardware
merchant and financier of Reading, was one of the incorporators in
the founding and establishing of the Philadelphia & Reading
railroad; and his uncle, Wirt Robinson, was on the staff of
engineers who built the road.

The criminal prosecution of the “Mollie
Maguires” by the Philadelphia & Reading railroad in the coal
regions was a most laborious and hazardous undertaking, and the
president of the company, Franklin E. Gowan, Esq., not only
accomplished a brilliant success in destroying this malicious and
nefarious secret society, but displayed extraordinary and well
directed courage. In his great endeavors and final success, Mr.
Keim was of much valuable assistance to him in the preparation and
direction of the cases, although not publicly concerned in the
noteworthy trials.

Historical matters relating to his native county
and State received Mr. Keim’s early attention. In 1853, shortly
after his admission to the bar, he identified himself with the
Historical Society of Pennsylvania, at Philadelphia, and he
continued in active membership for forty years, having officiated
as first vice-president from 1868 until his death, a period
covering twenty-five years. He was also a member of the Sons of the
Revolution; of the American Philosophical Society; and he was one
of the directors of the Finance Company of Pennsylvania, at
Philadelphia, which he assisted in re-organizing. While residing at
Reading, from 1849 to 1855, he took an interest in local matters
and joined the militia and the volunteer fire department. He was
possessed of a truly sociable nature, which he displayed at all
times in a straightforward, unpretentious manner. He was very fond
of both literature and art, and owned a large library of valuable
books, while the numerous choice paintings which adorned his home,
at No. 2009 De Lancy Place, gave evidence of culture and critical
artistic taste. After his death, Mrs. Keim donated all of his
Americana, comprising historical works of great value and numbering
about a thousand volumes, to the Historical Society of
Pennsylvania.

In 1853 Mr. Keim married Elizabeth Cocke
Trezevant, only daughter of Dr. Louis Cruger and Elizabeth Marion
Cocke Trezevant, of Charleston, S. C. The latter was a daughter of
Buller and Elizabeth Barron Cocke. Mrs. Keim’s father was the only
child of Hon. Louis Trezevant, a justice of the Supreme court of
South Carolina, and his wife Henrietta Morrell (Nethercliffe)
Trezevant, of Savannah, Ga. To Mr. and Mrs. Keim two daughters were
born: Julia Mayer and Susan Douglass. The latter married William
Lyttleton Savage, of Philadelphia, son of William L. and Sarah
(Chauncey) Savage.

Mr. Keim died Dec. 18, 1893, and his remains
were interred in the Keim lot in the Charles Evans cemetery,
Reading. His death elicited many testimonials of regret and
condolence, which were highly complimentary to his life and
character.

KEIM, GEORGE de
BENNEVILLE

pg. 359

Surnames: KEIM, de BENNEVILLE, WICKERSHAM, LATHROP, MYERS,
MICHENER, SMITH, FITLER, CHILDS, MITCHELL, THOMAS

George de Benneville Keim, a prominent merchant, politician and
official of Philadelphia, was born at Reading, Berks Co., Pa., Jan.
18, 1831, a son of John May and Harriet (de Benneville) Keim.

John May Keim was a prominent hardware merchant
at Reading for many years. He married Harriet de Benneville, and
they had six children, namely: Ellen, who married John Wickersham;
Mary, who married Isaac Lathrop, Esther, who married Leonard Myers;
George de Benneville; Anna, who married Amos Michener; and John
May. (For other data see the publication entitled “Keim and Allied
Families” which was compiled by de B. Randolph Keim)

After receiving a thorough education at Reading
and at “China Hall”, in Bucks county, Mr. Keim engaged in a general
hardware business at Reading until 1862, when he went to
Philadelphia and entered the hardware store of Rufus Smith, on
Commerce Street, east of Fourth. After continuing with him for
seven years he started in the saddlery hardware business for
himself, at Third and Race streets, which he carried on until 1872;
then he organized the firm of Keim, Kennedy & Co. which did
business successfully until 1876, when the name was changed to Geo.
de B. Keim, Ltd., & Co. and so continued for nearly twenty
years. He was also identified for some years with the Union Banking
Company, as a director, and with the Citizens’ Bank as President.

Immediately after locating in Philadelphia, Mr.
Keim identified himself with the Republican organization in that
city and for thirty years took an active part in local politics. In
1880 he was chosen one of the Presidential electors for
Pennsylvania, and he cast his vote for James A. Garfield. In 1882
he was placed on the Republican ticket for sheriff and was elected,
notwithstanding opposition led by the powerful combination of the
“committee of 100: which had been organized for the reform of local
politics. He served the regular term of three years from 1883 to
1886. In 1887 he was nominated on the Independent ticket for mayor,
against Edwin H. Fitler on the Republican ticket, and although his
numerous friends throughout the city conducted a hard campaign in
his behalf, he was defeated.

In 1873 Mr. Keim represented the United States
as a commissioner to the World’s Fair at Vienna. At its close he
traveled for a year over many parts of Europe and brought home with
him many rare and costly paintings and works of art. This
collection he continued to add to, and by many persons his
collection is considered the finest owned by a private individual
in Pennsylvania. For may years he resided at No. 1122 Spruce
street, and he had a summer home at Edgewater Park, N.J., occupying
a charming site on the eastern bank of the Delaware river; he also
owned a farm and “shooting-box” in Maryland. While enjoying sport
at the latter place he contracted a heavy cold, which developed
into pneumonia, and he died after a short illness, March 10, 1893.
He had a large circle of friends who appreciated him very highly
for his genial, frank and straightforward nature.

In 1850 Mr. Keim was married to Miss Sarah
Childs, of Milestown, Pa., by whom he had six children: Harriet de
Benneville, Mary L., Ellen W., Walter M., John M., and Fanny
Granville. In 1883, Mr. Keim was married (second) to Miss Elizabeth
Archer Thomas, daughter of Joseph Tuley and Belinda Jane (Mitchell)
Thomas, the former of who was a distinguished lawyer of
Philadelphia. They had two children: George de Benneville and
Elizabeth Thomas.

KEIM,
GEORGE MAY (GEN)

p. 328

Surnames: KEIM, BIRD, SNYDER, LOTZ, EVANS, de BENNEVILLE, SAUER,
BERTOLET, de BERTOLET, KNABB, HIESTER, FRANKS, MAY, ROBINSON,
BROOKE, BIDDLE, DOUGLASS, HOOPES, CHAUNCEY, SERGEANT, STEVENS,
WOODWARD, MUHLENBERG, GETZ, MAYER, BEHNE

Gen. George May Keim was actively engaged in the financial,
industrial, political, military and social life of Reading for
upward of thirty years, dying suddenly in 1861, while co-operating
in the organization of troops at Reading for service in the Civil
war. He was born at Reading, March 23, 1805, and was a member of a
family which has been settled in Berks county for over two
centuries, being a lineal descendant of John Keim, who emigrated to
America in the latter part of the seventeenth century, and was one
of the first settlers in Oley township, this county. He took up
land before 1718, and located in the upper section of the township,
near what is now the village of Lobachsville, carrying on farming
there until his death in 1732. In religion he was a Friend, a
follower of Pastorius.

Nicholas Keim, son of John, was one of the
earliest successful merchants of Reading. He was born in Oley
township April 2, 1719, and engaged in farming until 1755, when he
moved with his wife and only son to Reading, where he opened a
general hardware store and also engaged in grain dealing, etc. In
1769 he purchased from Mark Bird the Weiser store stand, familiarly
known as the “Old White Store,” on Penn street, near Fifth, where
he continued to do business successfully for a number of years.
During that time he was one of the principal merchants of the
place, and he had extensive transactions with the leading merchants
of Philadelphia and Germantown, many prominent names appearing on
his receipt books. In about 1785 he transferred the business to his
only son, John, and retired from active life. He died Aug. 3, 1802,
after a lingering illness. Mr. Keim was a progressive man, not only
in the conduct of his own affairs, but also in the promotion of
every cause affecting the development of the community in which he
lived. He married Barbara Snyder, and they had one son, John. They
lived in a large two-story stone dwelling located on the Northwest
corner of Penn and Ninth streets.

John Keim continued in his father’s footsteps as
a successful merchant, but surpassed him greatly in the
accumulation of property. He was born in Oley township July 6,
1749, and was six years old when the family removed to Reading, in
whose development and commercial life he was destined to play so
prominent a part. In the fall of 1777 he marched with the battalion
of Lieut.-Col. Nicholas Lotz to reinforce the army under
Washington, and was honorably discharged in 1782, after five years’
service. After his return from the war he joined his father in the
conduct of the general hardware store, of which he became sole
proprietor in 1785, as previously related. About the year 1800, he
took into partnership his two sons, Daniel and George, under the
firm name of Keim & Sons, and they carried on the business for
a number of years. Meantime John Keim was acquiring new and varied
interests, and became prominently identified in different ways with
the life of his adopted city. In 1787-90 he served a term as county
commissioner, and he was also burgess for a time. He became a large
property owner, and in the improvement of his own holdings saw the
value of internal improvements in the city, of which he was an
enthusiastic advocate. He built a number of dwelling-houses and put
up the first three-story brick building in Reading, and he was
accounted one of the wealthy men of Berks county in his day. In
1806 he leased to Charles Evans, esq., the three-story brick
building on South Fifth street which afterward became the property
of Mr. Evans, who resided there for many years. Mr. Keim was
prominently identified with the first steps taken toward the
building of the Penn street bridge, lending all his influence to
the project. He was a man highly respected and well thought of, for
though strict in business and of the highest integrity he was never
stern or unreasonable in his transactions. In an obituary notice
which appeared in the Berks and Schuylkill Journal it was said: “He
had resided in this borough for sixty-four years, during which time
he amassed a large fortune, which never caused a widow’s tear nor
an orphan’s execration.what he has left behind him was justly his
own. As a creditor he was ever lenient and his numerous tenantry
can testify to his goodness as a landlord.” He died Feb. 10, 1819,
in his seventieth year, and was laid to rest in the Episcopal
burial ground.

On Oct. 15, 1771, John Keim married Susanna de
Benneville, through whom General Keim is of French-Huguenot
extraction, she having been a daughter of Dr. George de Benneville.
They had four children: Daniel de B., born Sept. 8, 1772, who died
in 1833; George de B., who is mentioned further on; Benneville,
born at Reading, Nov. 30, 1790, who died there Oct. 30, 1872; and
Esther de B.

Dr. George De Benneville was one of the early
practitioners of medicine in Oley township, where he was located
before 1750. He was born in London July 26, 1703, a descendant of
George de Benneville, a Frenchman of Normandy, born in the city of
Rouen. The Doctor’s father, who bore the same name, was a “French
refugee, who, being persecuted for his religion, retired with his
family and connections into England upon invitation of His Majesty
King William, who took a tender care of them and employed them at
his court.” After a varied career, in his thirty-eighth year
(1741), with the aid of Queen Anne, of England, Dr. de Benneville
came to Philadelphia. He was in failing health at the time of his
arrival, but the changed environment was to bring renewed strength.
Benneville was met at the Wharf by Christopher Sauer, the printer
of the oldest Bible in this country, who did not know him but was
led to meet him by the influence of a dream. He took the stranger
home with him and there Benneville met Jean Bertolet, of Oley,
Berks county, where a colony of Huguenots had settled. The
Bertolets had located there as early as 1726. Bertolet persuaded
the Doctor to settle near him in the forest, and in 1745 he married
Esther de Bertolet, daughter of Jean. While in Oley he taught
school, practiced medicine and preached the gospel, becoming the
founder of the Universalist Church in America. He held the first
meetings in the home which he had built (on the farm at one time
owned by Daniel Knabb) near the “Oley line,” for teaching the
doctrines and beliefs of that religious denomination. The walls of
this historic old de Benneville house in Oley township are still
standing, although it was erected in 1745. He was there until 1755,
when he moved to Branchtown, on the old York road, Philadelphia
county, where he acquired an extensive medical practice. He died
there in 1793, aged ninety years, and his wife died in 1795, aged
seventy-five years.

Gen. George de Benneville Keim, second son of
John Keim, was born at Reading Dec. 16, 1778, and received his
education in the school held in the old Friends’ meeting house. He
was then sent by his father to Philadelphia, entering the large
hardware establishment of the Chancellors, in order to familiarize
himself with the business. When he returned to Reading, in his
twentieth year, he was taken into partnership by his father, who
carried on the business established at what was known as the “old
White store.” This building was the first business place at
Reading. In addition to merchandising George de Benneville Keim
also engaged in the manufacture of iron, being interested in the
Reading Furnace and various forges. From 1809 to 1814 he did
business in Philadelphia in connection with the export of bread
stuffs. Many of his business interests were of direct benefit to
this region, not only in the way of furnishing profitable
employment to a large number, but also in introducing new
industries, thus increasing the resources of the section
materially. He was one of the first to attempt the cultivation of
the grape and the manufacture of wine; he used his means and
influence in raising the quality of the live stock in Berks county;
and was active in promoting agricultural interests generally,
owning several farms in Exeter township and vicinity. Mr. Keim
served as president of the Branch Bank of Pennsylvania for over
thirty years; he was one of the promoters of the Reading Water
Company and its first president, filling that position for a long
period.

Mr. Keim was the chief burgess of Reading,
served as president of the town council for many years, and was
prominent in the development of the county and of Reading, not only
in business affairs and as a factor in the local civil government,
but also in the promotion of education and other matters affecting
the broader development of the community. He took an earnest
interest in the establishment of the Reading Academy and the
Reading Female Seminary, both of which held an important place in
the literary training of the young people of that day. The matter
of local public improvements always received his hearty support,
and he was active in the erection of bridges and the building of
good roads, being for many years one of the managers of both the
Perkiomen and Reading & Sunbury turnpikes. He was a zealous
worker in Christ Church, and took an active part in the building of
same, the lot for which was donated by a member of the Price
family, to which his wife was related. All benevolent objects and
worthy charities were encouraged and supported by him.

When the whiskey insurrection broke out, in
1794, Mr. Keim volunteered, serving in the government forces, and
he always took the keenest pleasure in military matters. In 1821 he
received the appointment of aid on the staff of Governor Hiester,
with the rank of colonel; in 1830 he was elected major-general of
the 6th Division, Pennsylvania Militia, succeeding his
brother-in-law, Hon. Samuel D. Franks, and when he retired, five
years later, was succeeded by his son, George M. Keim, who in turn
was succeeded by his cousin, Gen. William H. Keim.

On Feb. 4, 1799, Mr. Keim married Miss Mary May,
daughter of James May, and to them were born seven children, three
sons and four daughters, namely: John M., George M., Daniel M.,
Ann, Susan, Catherine and Rebecca (m. Wirt Robinson, an eminent
civil engineer of Richmond, Va.). George de B. Keim passed away
Aug. 20, 1852, and his wife died in 1854.

James May, father of Mrs. Mary (May) Keim, and
maternal grandfather of Gen. George May Keim, was a well-known
citizen of Reading. He was born March 20, 1749, in Coventry
township, Chester county, Pa., son of Robert and Elizabeth May, and
grandson of Robert May, who came to this province before the year
1700, and married a daughter of John Brooke. Mr. May was of Quaker
ancestry. Prior to the Revolution he moved to Reading, where he
ever afterward made his home, becoming one of the prominent
citizens of that place. In the Act of 1783, incorporating Reading
into a borough, he was named as one of the assistant burgesses, and
he was particularly well known as an early advocate of public
improvements in this section, being identified prominently with
such ventures as the Union canal, Centre turnpike, etc. He was a
general merchant and also dealt extensively in grain, lumber, etc.,
and was connected with various important institutions, being a
director of the Branch Bank and a member of the first Board of
Trade at Reading. He was one of the two wardens of the Episcopal
Church, the other having been Marks John Biddle, Esq. His death
occurred at Reading in 1819.

James May married Bridget Douglass, daughter of
George Douglass, and by this union lost his birthright in the
Society of Friends, the Douglass family being Episcopalians. Their
children were: Mary (m. George de B. Keim), George, Sarah (m. Hon.
Samuel D. Franks), Thomas and Elizabeth. George May Keim received
his early education at home and at Bentley Hall, the school
conducted by Joshua Hoopes, at Downington, Chester Co., Pa. In 1823
he was graduated at Dickinson College, Carlisle, Pa. He studied law
under Charles Chauncey, Esq., at Philadelphia, where he was
admitted to the bar June 5, 1826, being admitted to the Bar in
Berks county on Aug. 11th following. As a leader in important
public affairs, in various business enterprises of note, and in the
government of his country, he found this preparation of immense
value. In fact he used his legal knowledge more in such ways than
in direct professional labors. At the early age of twenty-two, in
1827, he was elected cashier of the Farmers’ Bank of Reading, of
which his uncle, Benneville Keim, was the president, and held that
position until 1836. He held a substantial interest in many
projects tending toward the commercial development of Reading, and
encouraged the establishment of others. He aided in the erection of
the first rolling-mill and nail works, owned by Keims, Whittaker
& Co., and was a member of the firm of Jones, Keim & Co.,
who carried on the Windsor Furnace, in Windsor township. This firm
had a reputation for its fine castings, made directly from the iron
ore, notable among which was “The Last Supper,” after Leonardo da
Vinci. He understood thoroughly the value of agriculture in the
economy of the county, and used his influence and means in raising
the standards in various branches of farming. He introduced
imported thoroughbred cattle into the county, and was one of the
organizers of the Berks County Agricultural Society, delivering the
address at its first annual meeting, Oct. 28, 1852. He was the
second president of the society, serving as such for several years,
and it was during his administration that the county commissioners
leased to the society for ninety-nine years the “Commons” for the
annual exhibitions. He made agricultural addresses in various parts
of the State by request. Another source of revenue which he
considered valuable in the State led him to an early investigation
of her mineral resources, and he made a thorough study of the
geology and mineralogy of the State, in the course which he
acquired a comprehensive collection of minerals, including valuable
specimens from all parts of the world. In this connection might be
mentioned his Indian relics, which were principally from central
Pennsylvania, and which after his decease were presented to the
Smithsonian Institute. The minerals were given to Lehigh
University. In 1829 General Keim was commissioner, and later for
some years manager, of the Mill Creek and Mine Hill Navigation and
Railroad company.

General Keim early became identified with public
affairs. He represented Berks county at the convention called to
amend the State Constitution held during 1837-38, and his speech on
banking attracted considerable and most favorable notice. His name
appears among such distinguished ones as John Sergeant, Charles
Chauncey, Thaddeus Stevens and George W. Woodward as a member of
the committee of nine who issued a stirring address concerning the
ways and means of providing for common school education and the
general diffusion of useful knowledge, as well as the industry and
pecuniary prosperity of the State. In 1838, when a vacancy occurred
in Congress because of the resignation of Hon. H. A. Muhlenberg,
who accepted the mission to Austria, General Keim was elected to
fill out the term, and he was subsequently re-elected for two
terms, remaining in Congress until March, 1843. At the election for
Speaker of the House in the XXVIth Congress he received a
complimentary vote. During the XXVIIth Congress he distinguished
himself in a patriotic speech against a petition praying for the
dissolution of the Union. He declined renomination for a four term.
In 1842, toward the close of his Congressional career, he presided
at a dinner given to Charles Dickens in Washington in March of that
year, when many men prominent in politics and letters were present
to welcome the great author.

Upon his retirement from Congress the General
was offered his choice of three positions by President Tyler, and
he selected that of United States marshal for the Eastern district
of Pennsylvania in order to remain at home. In 1844 he was
re-appointed by Polk. Meantime he found his popularity throughout
the State increasing steadily, and such was the confidence in his
ability and integrity that he could have had the Democratic
nomination for governor in 1848, but he would not consider the
proposal. In 1852, upon the death of Mayor Getz, he was elected to
fill the unexpired term, entirely without solicitation. In 1860, at
the Democratic convention in Reading, he was elected a Presidential
elector at large.

From early manhood General Keim manifested his
interest in military matters. In 1830 he was elected captain of the
Reading Artillerists, to succeed his uncle, Capt. Daniel de B.
Keim, and not long afterward he became colonel of the 53d Regiment,
Pennsylvania Militia. In 1835 he became major-general of the 6th
Division, Pennsylvania Militia, which included the companies of
Berks, Schuylkill, Dauphin and Lebanon counties, succeeding his
father in that position. When the Civil war broke out he
immediately identified himself with the Union cause, and he labored
faithfully and zealously to hold the Democratic party in his county
together in the trying period immediately preceding the war. In the
spring of 1861 he raised a company of volunteers for home defense,
and he was active and enthusiastic in drilling and preparing them
for actual duties. One of the last acts he performed was to head a
paper with his name, offering the services of this company to the
government. It was undoubtedly the unusual exertion of this
undertaking that brought on the stroke of paralysis from which his
death soon ensued, on June 10, 1861, when he was fifty-six years
old. He was buried at sunset on the 12th, in the Charles Evans
cemetery, with military and Masonic honors. His funeral was one of
the largest ever seen in Reading up to that time, his death being
sincerely mourned throughout the State. The numerous enterprises he
encouraged and supported won him friends in every walk of life, and
his genial disposition, open-hearted and companionable nature,
retained them forever.

General Keim married in 1827 Julia C. Mayer,
youngest daughter of Hon. Christopher Mayer, of Lancaster, and six
children survived them: George de Benneville, Charles Wetherill,
Henry May, Julia Mayer (Mrs. Gustavus Augustus Behne), Susan
Douglass and Mary May. Mrs. Keim died May 12, 1857. The sons have
attained an eminence in the public life of the State worthy of the
name and family traditions.

KEIM, HENRY
MAY

p. 405

Surnames: KEIM, TREXLER

Henry May Keim was born of a family which has been prominently
connected with the city of Reading and county of Berks since the
time of the earliest settlements therein. His father was Gen.
George May Keim, who represented his district in Congress and died
at the beginning of the Civil war which preparing to leave with his
troops for the front. His grandfather was Gen. George DeBenneville
Keim, who was born during the war of the Revolution and was in the
military service during the Whiskey Insurrection. His
great-grandfather was John Keim, who was one of the leading
merchants of Reading, where he amassed a considerable fortune. His
great-great-grandfather was Nicholas Keim, who was one of the
earliest proprietors of the “Old White Store: at Fifth and Penn
streets, shortly after it was first established by Conrad Weiser;
and his great-great-great-grandfather was John Keim, the elder, who
arrived in Pennsylvania shortly after its foundation, and settled
in Oley township, Berks county, as early as 1718.

Henry May Keim was born at Reading, Aug. 16,
1842. He graduated at the Reading high school in 1858, at the head
of his class, and he entered the Sophomore class at Union College,
Schenectady, N. Y., graduating in 1862. Shortly after his
graduation he enlisted for service in the Civil war, in Company I,
11th Pennsylvania Militia, and saw service in Maryland. He entered
the service for the second time, the following year, during Lee’s
invasion of Pennsylvania, when he was commissioned lieutenant in
Company A, 53rd Pennsylvania Militia, and received distinguished
mention from his superior officers. Meantime he had undertaken the
study of law in the office of Jacob S. Livingood, Esq., and was
admitted to the Bar of Berks county Aug. 7, 1865.

During the years 1874 and 1875 he served as one
of the three auditors of the city of Reading. In 1876 he was
Democratic county chairman, and succeeded in increasing the
Democratic majority in the county for Tilden beyond all previous
figures. In recognition of his valuable party services and general
ability, in 1885 he was appointed by President Cleveland United
Stated consul at Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, where he most
creditably represented his government and gained the highest
respect and regard of the officials and people of the Island. Upon
his return from this service, he was elected president of the
Valley Railroad of Ohio, with his offices at Cleveland. The
financial troubles of the country occurring about this time having
forced the railroad into a receivership, he was appointed one of
the receivers, and by his careful management soon succeeded in
bringing it out of the receivership and restoring it to prosperity.
Upon the completion of his task he returned to Reading in
fulfillment of his long-cherished desire to continue his residence
here.

Mr. Keim was devotedly attached to the places,
people and traditions of his native county, and was foremost in all
undertakings designed for the public welfare. He was a trustee of
various important institutions, and was untiring in his exertions
in behalf of the sesqui-centennial celebration of the founding of
the city and in the movement to liquidate the debt of the Reading
Library and to establish it as a free library. He was one of the
organizers and original corporators of the Historical Society of
Berks county, and was from the beginning its corresponding
secretary and member of the council. His public spirit, his careful
attention to detail, and his zeal in all his undertakings made him
a most useful member of society, while his uniform kindness and
affability made him a general favorite with all classes and
attached his near associates very closely to him.

In 1867 Mr. Keim was married to Miss Emma E.
Trexler, daughter of Horatio Trexler, and she survives. He died at
his residence in Reading, Feb,. 18, 1899. Mr. Keim was a devout
member of Christ Protestant Episcopal Church at Reading, having
joined in his boyhood. When he became of age he was selected as a
vestryman, and he filled that position for a continuous period of
thirty-five years, his services terminating with his decease. His
devotion to the Church was so highly appreciated that a tablet was
erected to his memory on the south wall of the auditorium , which
bears the neat and expressive inscription: “A faithful friend ? An
Earnest Churchman ? A sincere Christian.” A Bishop of the Church
said of him: “He was a perfect type of a Christian Gentleman.”

KEIM,
WILLIAM H. (GEN.)

p. 327

Surnames: KEIM, HIGH, JONES , McKNIGHT,

Gen. William H. Keim was born at Reading June 13, 1813, eldest son
of Benneville Keim (president of the Farmers Bank for a number of
years, Mayor of Reading for three terms and enterprising business
man of the county) , and his wife, Mary High (daughter of Gen.
William High, wealthy farmer at “Poplar Neck,” of Cumru township,
and prominent in the military affairs of the county).

At the age of twelve years William H. Keim
entered the Military Academy at Mount Airy, near Philadelphia, then
one of the foremost educational institutions in the United States,
and was graduated with honor in 1829. Upon returning home, he
entered the store of his father, one of the largest general
hardware stores in Reading, and continued actively engaged in this
pursuit for nearly thirty years. The greater part of the time he
was a proprietor of a large store, in co-partnership with his
brother, John H. Keim. Besides the store business, he encouraged
enterprises generally for the development of Reading. His early
military training gave him a natural taste for military affairs and
he found much gratification in the volunteer service of the State
militia. Before the age of seventeen years he was an orderly
sergeant of the “Washington Grays,” and in 1837 he became captain
(succeeding his cousin, Capt. Daniel M. Keim). He was promoted
rapidly till l842 when he was elected major-general of the 5th
Division of Pennsylvania Volunteers, composed of Berks, Lebanon,
Dauphin and Schuylkill counties. In that year he took a prominent
part in the military encampment held at Reading, which was an
eventful occasion in the history of military affairs in Berks
county. In 1844, during the religious riot at Philadelphia, he was
ordered to assist in quelling the disturbances. His services in
organizing the local militia and in bringing them under proper
discipline were both untiring and successful, and they were placed
in the front rank of the volunteer soldiers of the State. In 1848
he was elected to the office of Mayor of Reading for one term,
becoming the second Mayor of the city. Several years afterward, he
took great, if not the principal, interest in establishing at
Reading the Pennsylvania Military Institute, for the purpose of
enabling young men to obtain education in military matters. In
November,1858, he was elected to Congress to fill the vacancy till
March following, caused by the resignation of Hon. J. Glancy Jones
– being the first and only Republican elected represent Berks
county in Congress. In 1859, he was elected Surveyor-General of the
State for the term of three years, at that time holding the office
of Major-General of militia, and while at Harrisburg, in 1860, he
suggested to Governor Curtin that the Commonwealth should be put in
a condition of defense, inasmuch as the signs of political
discontent over the election of Lincoln indicated civil strife; and
he recommended in that behalf a general encampment of the militia
of the State. Governor Curtin accepted this timely suggestion, and
an encampment was held at York in September, 1860,. with General
Keim as the chief in command. In January following, upon visiting
his home at Reading, he called upon Capt. James McKnight (who
commanded the Ringgold Light Artillery, a company of volunteers in
his brigade), and asked him to keep his company in readiness so as
to be able to respond promptly to any order that might be given.
Through this notice, the Ringgold Light artillery came to be the
first company that responded to the President’s call for troops in
the Civil war and reported for duty at Harrisburg in April, 1861.
General Keim offered his service when the crisis arose, and
Governor Curtin appointed him to a command of the State troops
under the first requisition of the President. After the campaign on
the upper Potomac, he received from the President the appointment
of Brigadier General of National troops. Resigning the office of
Surveyor-General, he obeyed the order to join the Army of the
Potomac. At the battle of Williamsburg, one of the most severe
contests of the war, he distinguished himself. Although too sick to
be on duty, he could not be prevented from leaving the hospital,
and having mounted his horse he led his brigade on the field. His
coolness, judgment and great bravery during the action were
conspicuous. Though under fire nearly the whole time, he was
perfectly calm. A bomb fell almost under his horse. Every one about
him turned pale with fear. The explosion covered him with mud.
After the battle, General McClellan called on him, complimented him
for the great service which he had rendered, and ordered him to the
post -of honor in advance of the army. But the excitement incident
to this battle aggravated his illness, and he was obliged to ask
for a furlough. This was granted and he returned to Harrisburg,
where his family had taken up a temporary residence. Unfortunately
his health was too far gone, and he died May 18, 1862, in the very
prime of life and usefulness, aged forty-eight years. The news of
his death produced a profound sensation of regret throughout the
Army of the Potomac. General McClellan was deeply affected by the
loss of this faithful commander, and he, on May 26th following,
issued general orders announcing his death and complimenting his
faithful, patriotic services to his country, and these were read to
every regiment in the army. His remains were brought to Reading,
and buried with military honors in the Charles Evans
cemetery.

KEIM,
WILLIAM M.

p 636

Surnames: KEIM, MENSH, GONSER, REAGER, MARX, REINHART

William M. Keim (deceased), who was for many years a popular hotel
man of Kutztown, Pa., was born in Pike township, Berks county, in
July, 1827, son of George M. and Susan (Mensh) Keim George M. Keim
was an extensive farmer in Pike township, and he followed that
occupation until his death, when his property was purchased by his
son, William M.. who operated it in connection with hotel keeping.
At the time of his death, in 1880, William M. Keim was proprietor
of the “Keystone Hotel” at Kutztown. In 1860 Mr. Keim married Mary
Ann R. Gonser. daughter of William and Mary (Reager) Gonser, and
four children were born to this union: Ida Nora m. George Marx, of
Kutztown, and had one child, Warren E.; John Ellsworth m. Matilda
Reinhart and is a broker in cotton yarns in Reading; William Oscar
died at the age of three years, four months; and Cora Ella died
when seven years, nine months, three days old. Mr. Keim was a
Lutheran in religious belief, and that church his widow also
adhered. Politically he was a Democrat.

Mrs. Keim came to Reading in 1885, and after
living for four years on Fifth street, she purchased two houses on
Pearl street, which she rebuilt in 1901. Mrs. Keim was a woman of
many admirable traits character, and had hosts of friends in the
community who mourned her decease.

KEIM,
WILLIAM R.

p. 1647

Surnames: KEIM/KIHM, VON WEIMER, YODER, WITMAN, HUFT, EBERHART,
MENSCH, OYSTER, ROHRBACH, MAUGER, BEHR, WEIDNER, WEIDER, HARE

William R. Keim, one of the successful fruit growers of Douglas
township, Berks county, comes of a family that has given able and
useful citizens to the Commonwealth.

The early home of the Keim family was in the
Rhine country in Germany. Some 687 years before the birth of the
American emigrant of the family lived one Gottschalk Keim, the
direct ancestor of Ludwig Hercourt Keim, an officer in the “Thirty
Years War,” serving under Bernhard von Weimer, and born near
Speier, about 1598. In 1638 he participated in the storming and
capture of Briesbach, and he died after 1662.

George Keim, son of Ludwig Hercourt, was born
about 1623, and was a merchant. George Keim and a Joseph Keim are
recorded as living at Speier in 1690.

Johann Keim, son of George, was born about 1647.

Johannes Keim, son of Johann, was born near
Speier about 1675. He was ruined in the French invasion of the
Palatinate (1688-1697), and visited the New World (Pennsylvania) on
a prospecting tour in 1698. He returned to Germany about 1701, and
was there married in 1706. The next year (1707) he returned to
Pennsylvania and located at Germantown, where he remained until the
following year, when he settled in the wilderness on the Manatawny,
in Oley township, Berks county. His first child was born at Oley in
1708. The earliest autograph manuscript relating to the Keims in
America (so far as is known) consists of two much faded, time-worn
and broken sheets of paper in German script by the hand of Johannes
(Hans) Keim. It must have been written about 1732, as it ends with
that year, and it was evidently drawn up for the benefit of the
fourth child and third son, Johannes Nicholas Keim, who gave it to
his son John. This record is now held by the family of the late
Daniel May Keim, of Bristol, Mr. Keim having obtained it from his
brother, Hon. George M. Keim, a zealous collector of data
pertaining to the family history.

The text of the paper is as follows:

“Ich Johannes Keim hab mich verheiratat in dem jahr 1706,
viertzen tag von Michels. “Katarina, born on Michels Day 1708.
(Later in another hand writing has been added ‘1793, den 8 Mai
begraben.’)

“Und in dem jahr, 1711, vier Wochten von Ostern ist mein sohn
Johannes zur welt geboren.

“Stephen, born March 28, 1717.

“Hantz Nickel, April 2, 1719.

“Elizabet, February , 1723.

“Jacob, October, 1724.

“Und in dem jahr 1731 den ersten tag in dem jahr 1731 habe ich
meine zweihe frau zur ehe genommen.

“Und in dem jahr 1732 den 27 Aprill is meiner sohn Henrig zur
welt geboren.”

All these children were born on the Manatawny
Creek, near its headwaters, in what was known as Oley in later
years, in Berks county, but then in Philadelphia county. It was
about a half mile from the present village of Pleasantville, and
fifteen miles southeast of Reading. The Christian name of the
second wife, as given in the will, was Maria Elizabeth. The will of
Johannes Keim refers to “All my six children from my first wife.”
In another part of the same document concerning bequests to his
second wife he provides “My wife, charged with ten small children.”
(Will probated at Reading, Jan. 1, 1754). It is therefore
established beyond question that he had sixteen children. Through a
“release of John Keim to George Keim, etc., April 29, 1762” the
names of the following children of the second marriage are
obtained: Heinrich; George; Conrad; Maria (m. Jacob Yoder); Barbara
(m. Michael Witman); and Susanna (m. Frederick Huft) – “Heirs and
representatives of John Keim, late of Oley in the County of Berks
and Province of Pennsylvania deceased.” The signatures to all
papers where the names are spelled “Kihm” in the text are clearly
Keim in German or English Script.

George Keim, grandson of Johannes and
grandfather of William R., was born April 10, 1776, and died July
11, 1859. He owned a large farm near Pikeville, now the property of
Moses Eberhart (the Eberharts and Keims are intermarried). In 1805
Mr. Keim married Susanna Mensch, born April 10, 1780, and died Aug.
24, 1865, after fifty-four years of wedded life. Both Mr. and Mrs.
Keim are buried in a private burial ground on their farm, located
in the orchard back of the barn. Of their ten children nine were
living at the time the mother died, at which time there were also
forty-seven grand-children and two great-grandchildren. The nine
were: John, William, Israel, George, Joel M., Benneville, Susanna,
Elizabeth and Sally Ann. George Keim had a sister Susanna,
1775-1846, who married George Oyster, 1762-1848.

Joel M. Keim, son of George, was born in Pike
township, Berks county, and died in Douglass township, aged
eighty-four years. He was a tanner in his earlier life, and was
employed at different places, but later he took up farming, and
lived many years in Pike township. The last six years of his life
he passed in Douglass township at the home of his son William R.
His farm of seventy-eight acres in Pike township is known as the
Keim farm. In politics he was a Democrat, and efficiently filled
the office of school director and supervisor in Pike township for a
number of years. Both he and his wife are buried at Hill Church, of
which he was a Lutheran member. He married Catharine Rohrbach, who
was born in District township, daughter of Daniel Rohrbach. She is
still living, now aged eighty-nine years, and makes her home with
her daughter-in-law at Hill Church. Their children were: James, a
farmer in Pike township; Augustus, deceased, a farmer in Douglass
township; Samuel, unmarried, and living with William R.; William
R.; and Katie, who died about seventeen years.

William R. Keim was born near Lobachsville, in
Pike township, Jan. 29, 1858, and was educated in the schools of
his native township. His practical training for life’s affairs he
acquired on the home farm. At the age of seventeen he learned the
tinsmith’s trade, but never followed it to any extent. He began
farming for himself in 1880, continuing for six years, and in
addition he attended the Philadelphia markets once or twice a week.
From 1886 to 1889 he worked as a molder in the Colebrookdale
foundry. Since the spring of 1890 he has been farming. For nine
years he was a tenant farmer on different farms in Douglass
township. In the spring of 1899 he moved to his present tract,
located in the extreme northeast end of Douglass township. It
consists of sixty-four acres, and is known as the John Mauger farm,
though originally a part of the Behr estate for one hundred years,
Mrs. Mauger having been born a Behr. Mr. Keim is a pomologist,
taking great interest in fruit growing, and has about 1800 peach
trees, 600 now (1909) being in bearing condition. He also has 140
apple trees that he planted in 1900. His farm is in an excellent
state of cultivation, and he has a reputation for thorough
understanding of his work.

In politics Mr. Keim is a Democrat, and he has
been active in his party’s interest. He served as supervisor of
Douglass township for six years , and is very influential in Lower
Berks county. He and his family are Lutheran members of the church
at Lobachsville.

On April 28, 1884, Mr. Keim married Emma,
daughter of Thomas and Catharine (Weidner) Weider, the former of
whom was a “Herrenhooter” from Bethlehem, belonging to the Moravian
Church. (His son Thomas was a farmer in Spring township). Two sons
and one daughter have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Keim, namely:
Milton W., a bookkeeper in the service of the Bell Telephone
Company, Philadelphia, is married to a Miss Hare, of Nova Scotia;
Edwin W. is a merchant at Gilbertsville; and Emma C. is at home.